Problems playing .mkv on a LG BD550

[Pipster2797]

My Blu ray player is a LG BD550.

Im using a WD1TB USB External Hard Drive that connects to the USB port to play .avi and .mkv files.

Certain files play fine on both avi and mkv.

However certain 1080p mkv files dont play while others do. On the ones that wont play I get a message saying "this movie may not play properly", however it plays fine on my laptop.

Ive done a bit of reading about it and have remuxed it to disable header removal compression for audio and video tracks by default.

On Episode 1 of Band of Brothers this worked, however on the 2nd episode it didn't.

Ive put both files into media info to see if there is any difference with the files:

General

Unique ID :202817418428781202066081059065688005134 (0x989536C4BDB6F55EB25B500BCF309A0E)

Complete name :C:\Users\Laptop\Desktop\Episode 1 (1).mkv

Format : Matroska

Format version : Version 2

File size : 6.56 GiB

Duration : 1h 13mn

Overall bit rate : 12.8 Mbps

Encoded date : UTC 2011-09-16 22:41:08

Writing application : mkvmerge v4.9.1 ('Ich will')built on Jul 11 2011 23:53:15

Writing library : libebml v1.2.1 +libmatroska v1.1.1



Video

ID : 1

Format : AVC

Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile : High@L4.1

Format settings, CABAC : Yes

Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames

Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC

Duration : 1h 13mn

Bit rate : 10.9 Mbps

Width : 1 920 pixels

Height : 1 080 pixels

Display aspect ratio : 16:9

Frame rate : 23.976 fps

Color space : YUV

Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0

Bit depth : 8 bits

Scan type : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.220

Stream size : 5.46 GiB (83%)

Writing library : x264 core 65 r1029M cb3c213

Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 /deblock=1:-2:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=6 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 /mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 /deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0/ bframes=16 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 /keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=10943 /ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 /qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00

Language : English



Audio #1

ID : 2

Format : DTS

Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems

Codec ID : A_DTS

Duration : 1h 13mn

Bit rate mode : Constant

Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps

Channel(s) : 6 channels

Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

Bit depth : 16 bits

Compression mode : Lossy

Stream size : 791 MiB (12%)

Title : eng

Language : English



Audio #2

ID : 3

Format : AC-3

Format/Info : Audio Coding 3

Mode extension : CM (complete main)

Codec ID : A_AC3

Duration : 1h 13mn

Bit rate mode : Constant

Bit rate : 384 Kbps

Channel(s) : 6 channels

Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

Bit depth : 16 bits

Compression mode : Lossy

Stream size : 201 MiB (3%)
Title : 国语
Language : Chinese

and Episode 2

General

Unique ID :221319570168213684286967065279083612468 (0xA680994774D3C91DAACB45AAEC9C8934)

Complete name :C:\Users\Laptop\Desktop\Episode 5.mkv

Format : Matroska

Format version : Version 1

File size : 6.56 GiB

Duration : 55mn 42s

Overall bit rate : 16.9 Mbps

Encoded date : UTC 2008-12-08 05:12:30

Writing application : mkvmerge v2.2.0 ('Turn It OnAgain') built on Mar 4 2008 12:58:26

Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 +libmatroska v0.8.1



Video

ID : 1

Format : AVC

Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile : High@L5.1

Format settings, CABAC : Yes

Format settings, ReFrames : 8 frames

Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC

Duration : 55mn 42s

Bit rate : 15.0 Mbps

Width : 1 920 pixels

Height : 1 080 pixels

Display aspect ratio : 16:9

Frame rate : 23.976 fps

Color space : YUV

Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0

Bit depth : 8 bits

Scan type : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.301

Stream size : 5.69 GiB (87%)

Writing library : x264 core 65 r1029M cb3c213

Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=8 /deblock=1:-2:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=6 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 /mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 /deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0/ bframes=16 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 /keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=14983 /ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 /qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00

Language : English



Audio #1

ID : 2

Format : DTS

Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems

Codec ID : A_DTS

Duration : 55mn 42s

Bit rate mode : Constant

Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps

Channel(s) : 6 channels

Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

Bit depth : 16 bits

Compression mode : Lossy

Stream size : 602 MiB (9%)

Title : eng

Language : English



Audio #2

ID : 3

Format : AC-3

Format/Info : Audio Coding 3

Mode extension : CM (complete main)

Codec ID : A_AC3

Duration : 55mn 42s

Bit rate mode : Constant

Bit rate : 384 Kbps

Channel(s) : 6 channels

Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

Bit depth : 16 bits

Compression mode : Lossy

Stream size : 153 MiB (2%)

Title : 国语

Language : Chinese

Can anyone help to see what the difference is between the 2 files? My guess is that the files are 2 different ones inside the mkv container and my Blu Ray player can play one type and not the other.

The LG BD550 can play other 1080p mkv files fine.

[poisondeathray]

For #2 , L5.1 is problematic, likely the reason . Most hardware chips only support high@L4.1 or lower

Format profile : High@L5.1

[Pipster2797]

Just checked a sample of Star Wars 1080p

General
Unique ID : 180557583677431400741794489911472842234 (0x87D6202E780041E0B74DD52A2C6C65FA)
Complete name : C:\Users\Laptop\Desktop\Star.Wars.1977-1983.BluRay.1080p.DTSES6.1 2Audio.x264-CHD\Star.Wars.Episode.4.A.New.Hope.1977.BluRay.108 0p.DTSES6.1.2Audio.x264-CHD\sample.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 101 MiB
Duration : 45s 726ms
Overall bit rate : 18.5 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2011-08-30 01:32:21
Writing application : mkvmerge v3.2.0 ('Beginnings') 编译于 Feb 12 2010 16:46:17
Writing library : libebml v0.7.9 + libmatroska v0.8.1
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 45s 712ms
Bit rate : 16.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 816 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.438
Stream size : 89.7 MiB (89%)
Title : Star.Wars.Episode.4.A.New.Hope.1977
Language : English
Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile : ES
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 45s 726ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s) : 7 channels / 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, Back: C, LFE / Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 51ms
Stream size : 8.23 MiB (8%)
Title : DTS-CORE ES6.1 1536K
Language : English
Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 45s 726ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 30ms
Stream size : 1.05 MiB (1%)
Title : DD2.0 192K
Language : Chinese

Again the Format profile is High@L4.1. This mkv works so it must be this.

Is there anyway I can re-encode a file to make it high@L4.1?

[Pipster2797]

Thank You for the help because it was the format.

Fo anyone reading this in the future with the same problem you can use http://coolsoft.altervista.org/h264leveleditor to change the level and put it to 4.1. mkv's are working fine now.

Thanks

[Pipster2797]

Got the file working so making progress but the picture is now suffering from Pixelation.

Any ideas?

[aedipuss]

just changing the text in the file to @4.1 doesn't change the video from @5.1 - for that you need to re-encode it.

[Pipster2797]

Ok thanks, Ill have a search around on what is best to re encode the file to 4.1

[jagabo]

I bet more than 4 re-frames on a 1080p video is the problem. You have to re-encode to change that.

[aedipuss]

my lg 570 and 670 can handle 5 reframes.

[Pipster2797]

So I will need a full re-encode of the mkv file? Will it lose qaulity?

[jagabo]

So I will need a full re-encode of the mkv file?

Yes.

Will it lose qaulity?

Yes. If you do it well, you won't lose much quality. You might not even notice.

[Pipster2797]

This one wouldnt play at all until changed it to 4.1. plays fine now despite it being 8 frames too and no Pixelation

General
Unique ID : 229799830465160644162561093545414835033 (0xACE1D6647C717E03BF8AF936D3FF3B59)
Complete name : G:\Movies\Blu Ray\1080p\Star Wars 1080p\Episode IV - A New Hope.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 1
File size : 7.95 GiB
Duration : 1h 59mn
Overall bit rate : 9 513 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2007-09-01 15:40:45
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:55
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1
Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 8 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 59mn
Bit rate : 9 126 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 816 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.233
Stream size : 7.47 GiB (94%)
Writing library : x264 core 56 svn-667C
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-4:-4 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=6 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=4,6 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=3 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=9126 / ratetol=1.0 / rceq='blurCplx^(1-qComp)' / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / zones=173169,179370,b=0.15 / aq=1:0.3:15.0
Language : English
Audio
ID : 3
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 59mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 328 MiB (4%)
Language : English
Text
ID : 1
Format : UTF-8
Codec ID : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info : UTF-8 Plain Text
Language : English

[jagabo]

This one wouldnt play at all until changed it to 4.1. plays fine now despite it being 8 frames too and no Pixelation

The encoder will usually only use a few re-frames but will sometimes go higher, as high as the limit that's specified.

[Pipster2797]

Thanks for the help.

[mark1978]

By accident i found out, the video timings weren't correct. You can fix this with mkvtoolnix, by selecting the video stream and on the rightside select rewrite video timings.

[mark1978]

By accident i found out, the video timings weren't correct. You can fix this with mkvtoolnix, by selecting the video stream and on the rightside select rewrite video timings.

Still the freezing error.